Inspiring People

For those of you who came in late Jim Corbett’s life and stories will still be an eye opener. During his ‘holidays’ he used to stalk and kill man-eaters. Some of them had killed and eaten thousands of people! Really! … Continued

People carry too much gear. We are planning a trip to Scotland this year so we are working on how to fit everything we need into a couple of sub 500 gram backpacks such as these . For about a month … Continued

You can survive: Truly alone in the wilderness: Lost in Yellowstone for 37 days pretty much without equipment, food, clothing or shelter. ‘After wandering away from the rest of the expedition on September 9, 1870, Everts managed to lose the … Continued

Some sound advice from the introduction of Ray’s excellent ‘The Survival Manual’. If you have not caught up yet with Ray, you should. He is the original of those poor copies such as Bear Grylls having trained the SAS and … Continued

This young lady (accompanied by her husband, Hig) is amongst the greatest living explorers. Their 4,000 mile trek along the US Pacific Coast related in her book ‘A Long Trek Home’ is astonishing – but it proved to be only … Continued

Just like thousands of other Australians I lost a relative at Fromelles a hundred years ago today. Private Joseph Leslie (Roy) Martin Number 1584, 30th battalion AIF, an ex cadet, single labourer from Grenfell NSW, an uncle who would never … Continued

There is so much more to learn. Its secrets should never be locked away from us (eg by spurious claims of respect for remote ‘ancestors’). I have enormous respect for these ancient ‘Spaniards’ who were the first people into America … Continued

Emile Leray built a working motorbike from a broken down car to escape the African desert: ‘A Frenchman has found fame over 20 years later after pulling off a remarkable escape from the Moroccan desert – by building a motorbike … Continued

‘In 2013, three friends set off on a journey that they had been told was impossible: the north-south crossing of the Congo River Basin, from Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Juba, in South Sudan. Traversing two and … Continued

At very least it will make it enormously better. Enough that you can look forward to enjoying hiking in your 70s, 80s and 90s (coming up sooner than you think!) It will totally CURE Type 2 Diabetes in 8 weeks! … Continued

If Boone could do it, I can: ‘According to one story, in 1810 (at age 79) or later, Boone went with a group on a long hunt as far west as the Yellowstone River, a remarkable journey (from Missouri to … Continued

So far (I think) it has not crept out at night to do mayhem on the innocent – but it’s sure looking impressive. I am now an amalgam of machine parts: you might like to tell anyone you know whose … Continued

By E.H Jones is simply the most amazing true escape story, ever. I have been recommending it to people for fifty years but it has largely been out of print. I have not owned a copy myself for most of … Continued

A Film by Ken Burns 1997. About the first crossing of the American continent (by Europeans) in 1804-6. We have spent the last two nights simply mesmerised by this amazing documentary. Ken Burns is always such a treat! (You probably … Continued

I have been a hunter for over 60 years. I still feel much more thought needs to be given to the ethics of the hunt. It never ceases to amaze me (for example) that Rene Descartes, one of the West’s … Continued

WHAT a guy! Not many in modern times (save perhaps Thor Heyerdahl: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/kon-tiki-thor-heyerdahl/) have adventured like this chap, eg: The Brendan Voyage (1976–1977), The Sindbad Voyage (1980–1981), The Jason Voyage (1984), The Ulysses Voyage (1985), The China Voyage (May–November 1993), … Continued

This is such a lovely book http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Donkey-Trap-Coronet-Books/dp/034020303X ‘A charming memoir. She shares memories of her past along with her “adventures” in the donkey cart. She looks back from 1970 to a slower time. We see 1970 as a very … Continued

Facsimile CoverWhen I was a lad I thrilled to the works of Ion Idriess http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Idriess (and Nevil Shute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevil_Shute ‘A Town Like Alice’, ‘On the Beach’, etc) I still wonder at his retelling of the Kidman story (‘The Cattle King’) … Continued

You might enjoy this short Canadian film based on Les Voyageurs, (French-Canadians who ‘conquered’ the West with their giant canoes from the C16th onwards. What a great time to have been alive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-RNt4wNxb4